No ‘Santa Rally’ as Sensex, Nifty 50 fall 0.25% after Christmas Day break

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India’s stock market inched lower at the open today, as markets paused on thin year-end trading volumes, with analysts saying further upside dependent on earnings momentum.

At 10:25 am, the 30-share S&P BSE Sensex was trading lower by about 0.25% at 85,194.50 points even as the broader Nifty 50 was down 0.23% to test 26,100 levels. Fourteen out of the 16 major sectors logged losses at the open. The broader small-caps and mid-caps fell 0.1% each.

Both Nifty 50 and Sensex hit record highs in November after 14 months, but have remained muted so far in December, shedding about 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

“In the absence of fresh triggers like a US-India trade deal, the market is likely to consolidate around the present levels,” V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.

“Sentiment remains fragile amid low holiday volumes, FII selling of ₹1,721 crore and lack of strong domestic cues, keeping markets range-bound and volatile,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

Top Nifty 50 stocks today

  • Top gainers: Titan Ltd., Bharat Electronics Ltd., Cipla Ltd., Trent Ltd. and Coal India Ltd.
  • Top losers: Asian Paints Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd. Tata Steel Ltd., Sun Pharma Ltd. and Shriram Finance Ltd.

Analyst take on stock market today

  • “In the absence of fresh triggers like a India-US trade deal, the stock market is likely to consolidate around the present levels.” – V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd.
  • “Sentiment is fragile amid low holiday volumes, lack of strong domestic cues, keeping markets range-bound and volatile.” – Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd.

India’s stock market in 2026

For analysts, 2026 couldn’t come sooner, for that would mean three catalysts in play for the stock market in early part of the year:

  • Union Budget 2026, which will boost industrial, railway and defence stocks.
  • India’s trade talks with the US and EU, and their outcomes.
  • The third-quarter earnings season which kicks off in mid-January.

These factors can come together to propel India’s stock market to new highs in the first quarter of 2026. For now, markets are winding down a slow year, with hope intact but momentum still weak.

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